A Marietta man was convicted of $9.6 million Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud and $3.4 million tax fraud schemes, authorities announced.
Carl Delano Torjagbo, a/k/a Karl Lucius Delano, was convicted by a federal jury of bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering after obtaining a fraudulent $9.6 million PPP loan and filing fraudulent tax returns that generated a $3.4 million IRS refund.
“This defendant’s massive PPP fraud abused a valuable program intended to assist struggling Americans during a global pandemic. The defendant then compounded his harm by claiming a fraudulent $3.4 million tax refund,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg.
“Legitimate PPP loans saved small businesses across our country,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “Torjagbo chose greed over compassion. He will now be held accountable for his actions.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges and information presented at trial: On February 13, 2021, Torjagbo submitted two individual tax returns to the IRS. Each tax return was submitted using a different social security number and associated date of birth. The tax returns falsely alleged that Torjagbo had millions of dollars in losses that offset earnings from his purported African gold mine business, Kremkov Industries. The false representations resulted in a U.S. Treasury check being issued to Torjagbo in the amount of $3,366,240.76.
Just days later, on February 16, 2021, Torjagbo signed a PPP loan application requesting a $9,554,425 PPP loan for Kremkov Industries. He falsely certified that Kremkov Industries was in operation on February 15, 2020, which was required for a company to be eligible for a PPP loan; that he had 493 employees whose principal places of residence were in the United States; and that the company had an average monthly payroll of nearly $4 million.
Torjagbo also falsely certified that all loan proceeds would be used only for business-related purposes and submitted fraudulent documents to the bank, including false tax returns and fake payroll reports that listed nearly a dozen celebrities and fictional characters as purported employees of Kremkov Industries.
On March 29, 2021, Torjagbo received approximately $9.6 million in PPP loan proceeds. Instead of using it for purposes consistent with the PPP, he commingled the funds with the fraudulently obtained $3.4 million tax refund and paid personal debts and expenses, including the following:
$1,677,861.01 for his personal residence;
$332,999.80 for a 2014 Lamborghini Aventador;
$120,799.79 for a 2022 BMW M850xi;
$90,520 for a 2021 Land Rover Range Rover Velar;
$51,000 for the downpayment on a 72-foot yacht;
over $1,000,000 for real estate, trucks, and trailers to start a new business; and
more than $15,000 for plastic surgery.
Related Federal Cases
- Bergen County Attorney Accused of $9M PPP Fraud · New Jersey
- Georgia Man Gets 21 Months for Bank Fraud Scheme · New Hampshire
- Georgia Man Gets 21 Months for NH Bank Fraud · New Hampshire
- Launderer Sentenced to 30 Months for PPP Loan Scam · New Jersey
- Thao Thi Kim Nguyen, Mortgage Fraud, Orange County CA, 2018 · Texas
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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